


underneath the stars above us we don't even have to try

by littleghost



Series: the tarot cards say it's not so bad [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6771034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleghost/pseuds/littleghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Clary is suddenly reminded that Alec took kickboxing, and that he would probably not hesitate to throw her in the Reservoir, should she say the wrong thing.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	underneath the stars above us we don't even have to try

**Author's Note:**

> mention of miscarriage, nothing explicit.
> 
> see end notes for tarot meanings

_i. queen of wands_

 

Clary meets Isabelle because she has this on again/off again thing with Jace, Isabelle’s pseudo-brother. They meet during the off again part, and Clary is pretty sure it’s going to stay that way because Isabelle is _attractive._ (The entire Lightwood family is, all of them having dark hair and elegant bone structure, and Isabelle and Alec both know kickboxing so they could kill her.)

Isabelle finds her as she’s leaving the Brooklyn Academy of  Art, and Clary only knows it’s Isabelle because she looks exactly like Alec, who Clary has seen several times. “Clary, right?” Isabelle asks her, and she can only nod her head because she suddenly can’t form words. “Thank God, you’re the sixth redhead I’ve approached all day!”

Clary is still stuck on the ripped jeans and the band shirt with torn off sleeves that make it so she can see the side of Isabelle’s purple bra. “Sorry. You’re Isabelle, right?”

“Yeah, but call me Izzy. Only my parents and Magnus call me Isabelle.” Clary has no idea who Magnus is, but he’s been grouped with Maryse and Robert so hopefully he’s not her boyfriend.

“So, why’re you here?” She says, then blushes and apologizes, “Sorry, was that rude? I didn’t mean to be rude.”

Izzy only laughs at her, and says, “No, it’s fine. I’m here because Jace’s birthday is coming up and I’m inviting you to his party. I didn’t know your address, and  it’s a surprise party so I couldn’t have asked Jace.” She hands Clary a piece of cardstock that has **PANDEMONIUM. FRIDAY @ 8** on it in a bold font. Along the bottom are the words _presents are mandatory, clothing is not_ and she laughs at it.

“How optional, exactly, is clothing?” She asks, and Izzy’s cheeks have a twin blush.

“Entirely optional for you,” she says, and it’s Clary’s turn to blush.

“I’ll see you Friday,” Clary says pocketing the card.

 

Pandemonium is packed on Friday, and Clary can’t believe that this many people were invited to Jace’s party. The bouncer gave her an unimpressed until she produced her invitation and he motioned for her to go in. The people inside seemed to have opted out of clothing, and she’s sure that she’s seen every part of the human bodies by the time she makes it to the bar.

She’s only 20, meaning she can’t get anything alcoholic (She’s actually pretty sure the bartender wouldn’t card her, but. She’s a somewhat-good girl.), so she gets a Sprite. The bartender hands her an unopened can and a glass, and she thanks him before escaping to a table.  From there she looks around the room, trying to find a familiar face. Jace took her all around the club scene, but the strobe lights cast weird shadows on everyone’s face so she’s pretty sure if she saw someone she knew she wouldn’t recognize them.

Clary’s pouring her drink into the glass when Izzy shows up, dragging Simon and Jace behind her. They’re glaring at each other, like they have ever since they’d been introduced. “Clary!” Izzy says, like she didn’t think Clary would actually make it.

Clary greets her, but she’s having trouble concentrating on anything except the cut out on Izzy’s front that shows a belly button piercing. Her brain is literally rebooting.

“Wanna dance?” She hears Izzy ask, and Clary has to tear her eyes away from the curves that Izzy’s dress only accentuates.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” she says, and Jace and Simon don’t even notice when they walk away.

They’re pressed together on the dance floor, and Izzy’s face is right in front of hers. There was a height difference Clary noticed when they first met, but the heels she was wearing seemed to have compensated for it. She can feel the music under her feet, and as she and Izzy dance the crowd seems to press together, making them press into each other.

Her breath catches when she finds her lips centimeters from Izzy’s, and the world seems to stop. She might’ve closed her eyes, or maybe it happened so fast that she blinked, but a guy stumbles into Clary and the moment is ruined.

“Are you okay?” Izzy asks, her hands on Clary’s back, helping her balance.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, but there’s a protest in her ankle and she looks down to see that her heel is broken. “My heel isn’t though.” Izzy follows her gaze and sees the mangled shoe.

“We can dance another time,” she says, and helps Clary back to the table she had. Jace and Simon are gone, probably to angrily makeout again.

Izzy is regaling her with tales of Jace’s drunken ass when Alec appears. “Jace got in a fight,” he says. Izzy smiles an apology at Clary as she follows her brother.

Clary drops her head onto her arms when the siblings disappear and sighs loudly. She almost got to kiss a cute girl. She hates clubs.

 

_ii. two of cups_

 

Clary is sitting outside at a cafe, trying to inconspicuously sketch an old couple enjoying a date. She feels a little bit bad about it, and hates her figure drawing teacher for assigning it.

She’s attempting to get the beauty mark placed correctly on the woman’s cheek when Izzy plops down on the seat across from her. Clary starts and her pencil runs across the page, creating a long slash over the man’s face. Sighing, she places her pad and pencil down. 

“Oh, sorry, did I mess you up?” Izzy asks, frowning.

“No, it was a lost cause anyways,” Clary assures her. She looks at Izzy, who’s sitting in the perfect spot so the sun creates soft shadows on her face and asks, “Actually, do you mind if I sketch you?”

“Not at all!” Izzy exclaims, who looks ecstatic at the idea. “You want me to stare off into the distance like I do at shoots?”

Clary laughs and says, “No, just don’t tilt your head? You can talk, so don’t worry about sitting here in silence.”

“Okay, good,” Izzy says, but she doesn’t say much as she reads her book and sips at her coffee cautiously. It’s no surprise to Clary that she’s a model, because she doesn’t move her head from the position even once.

Clary only sketches out the main lines of Izzy’s face and the background before taking a picture with her phone. She’ll finish the rest later, when she’s not distracted by the fact that her crush is sitting across from her.

“I’m done,” she says, and tilts the pad so Izzy can see the rough sketch of her face.

“You’re good! Like, you’d have to be good to get into that school but this is so much better than the doodles on Jace’s arms!” Clary laughs, because doodling on Jace’s arm was her second favorite thing to do with him.

“Thanks,” she says. “So you’re a model?”

Izzy nods. “Yeah, I work at _Belcourt Couture._ ”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Clary tells her honestly. Camille Belcourt only hired the best of the best.

Izzy preens a little, before checking the time on her phone. “I’m going to meet Alec in Central. Wanna come?”

Clary thinks about saying no, because from what Jace has told her the Lightwood siblings are basically joined at the hips, but Izzy is inviting her and she doesn’t know how to say no to her yet. “I’d love to,” she says, and Izzy grins, interlocking their elbows as they walk down the street.

 

Central Park is as crowded as it usually is, but Alec commandeered an entire bench for himself using his long legs. The bench is facing the Reservoir, and little kids are splashing at each other from the edge.

“Hey, Alec, you remember Clary, right?” He looks at Clary and nods, and she averts her eyes. She remembers when they first met, when he looked so much smaller and always avoided touching each other. Now he just swings his legs off the bench and gestures for them to sit.

They’ve only been sitting for a few minutes when Izzy sees a street vendor and runs towards him. It’s slightly awkward between Clary and Alec, but she closes her eyes and tilts her head back, letting the sun warm her face.

“You’re the only person I’ll actually trust with my sister.” Alec’s voice startles her, and she looks look at him to see that he’s looking away.  

“What?” She manages.

“I see how you look at her; you like her. And you’re the only person that I trust with her.” Clary is suddenly reminded that Alec took kickboxing, and that he would probably not hesitate to throw her in the Reservoir, should she say the wrong thing.

“I won’t ever hurt her,” she says, softly.

“Good.” Izzy comes back then, holding two cups of ice cream and a cone of herself. She gives Clary the vanilla and Alec the cookie dough.

She’s fucking in love with Isabelle Lightwood.

 

_iii. eight of swords_

 

Clary had been texting Izzy for two weeks when it happens. Jocelyn had been having problems, and her movements were more sluggish, but Clary chalked it up old age, to the time of year. Novembers were always hard.

It’s only when Clary is in the waiting room of the hospital, redialing Luke when it really hits her. November held Jocelyn's miscarriage, the brother Clary would’ve had.

Luke arrives minutes after he picks up, and Clary collapses into his arms. He holds her, and she sobs into his shoulder. He talks to the doctor for her, handles the insurance, the paperwork. She’s too busy staring at the off-white walls to pay attention to anything other than the sound of a pen scratching on paper.  She’s distantly aware of her phone going off in her pocket, but she doesn’t answer it.

When the nurses finally allow visitors, Clary stays in the chair beside her mom’s bed for hours until she dozes off. She wakes up to the sound of the door opening, and Jace comes through, with Izzy behind him.

“Hey, Clary,” he says softly, like she’ll spook if he speaks in a louder tone. It wouldn’t matter however he said it, because she launches herself into his arms and clings tight. He wraps his arms around her, running his fingers up and down her back. “It’s alright, your mom’s gonna be alright,” he tells her.

Izzy comes beside him, and lays her hand on her shoulder. Clary leans into it, and Jace shuffles until he can hug both of them. Clary buries her face into Izzy’s shoulder, and they stand there for a few second.

Jace backs away after a moment, and Clary sinks back into her chair. “What’d the docs say,” he asks as he picks up the chart. He’s spent enough time in hospitals room with her, and he knows the difference between bad numbers and good numbers.

“Just stress and it’s that time of year,” she says. Jace nods, and she can tell Izzy wants to ask but doesn’t say anything. Clary doesn’t know when she’ll ever have the guts to say it again, so she says, “I would’ve had a twin brother.” Izzy doesn’t ask for any more information, just tightens her grip on Clary’s shoulder, and that’s good enough for now.

 

_iv. ace of pentacles_

 

Clary turns in her end of the year art project with a grin. Her figure drawing teacher told them they had to have ten full-figure sketches, and all of hers were of Izzy. She actually made eleven, but the last she kept for herself, a sketch of Izzy cocooned in Clary’s bed.

Izzy is waiting for her outside of school, and she smiles as soon as she sees Clary. “Ready?” She asks, and Clary nods.

Jocelyn comes home that day, and they have a party planned for her. Jace, Luke, and Alec are already there, finishing up the decorations before Luke goes to get Jocelyn.

They interlock their fingers as they walk down the street, and a thrill shoots up Clary’s spine every time Izzy’s thumb brushes over her knuckles. A block away from her flat, Clary pushes her into an alley and gives her a kiss, long and sweet until Izzy’s grinning.

“I love you,” Clary says when she pulls back, and Izzy’s eyes are blown wide before she surges forward and kisses Clary again.

“I love you too,” she says, and Clary laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> queen of wands: friendly, interested in a boy or girl  
> two of cups: love n friendship  
> eight of swords: bad news, sickness  
> ace of pentacles:contentment  
> as always, these are my interpretations, blah blah etc.
> 
> me: i shld finish my clizzy fic  
> me: i need to create complicated ocs!!  
> me: i need to cry about country music  
> i am obviously a very busy person, it's a miracle this is even done.
> 
> find me at [tumblr](https://lesbianroberts.tumblr.com)


End file.
